1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of data processing. More specifically, the present invention relates to techniques for using business services within a customer relationship management software environment.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As technology continues to advance and the business environments have become increasingly complex and diverse, more and more companies have relied on various customer relationship management (CRM) software and eBusiness applications to conduct and manage various aspects of their enterprise business. In general, eBusiness applications are designed to enable a company or enterprise to conduct its business over an interactive network (e.g., Internet, Intranet, Extranet, etc.) with its customers, partners, suppliers, distributors, employees, etc. eBusiness applications may include core business processes, supply chain, back-office operations, and CRM functions. CRM generally includes various aspects of interaction a company has with its customers, relating to sales and/or services. At a high level, CRM is focused on understanding the customer's needs and leveraging this knowledge to increase sales and improve service. CRM techniques and software are generally designed to provide effective and efficient interactions between sales and service, and to unify a company's activities around the customer in order to increase customer share and customer retention through customer satisfaction.
Typically, CRM implementation strategy needs to consider the following:
Knowledge Management: one of the important factors of an effective CRM implementation is the acquisition of information about a customer, its analysis, sharing and tracking. Also integral to the use of knowledge for competitive advantage is for employees to know what actions to take as a result of this knowledge.
Database Consolidation: another important aspect of an effective and efficient CRM solution is the consolidation of customer information in a single database and the re-engineering of business processes around the customer. The goal here is to have all interactions with a customer recorded in one place to drive production, marketing, sales and customer support activities.
Integration of Channels and Systems: it is very important for a CRM application/software to provide the capability to respond to customers in a consistent and high-quality manner through their channel of choice, whether that is e-mail, phone, web-based user interfaces, etc. This may require the seamless integration of various communication channels with the customer or enterprise database. It also may require the integration of CRM with other parts of a company's business systems and applications.
Technology and Infrastructure: to enhance customer services, a CRM application/software may include various tools to automate and streamline online customer service. For example, a self-help model typically can be implemented using a combination of tools (e.g., knowledge bases with an intuitive search capability, agent technology, automated email).
What is needed is an improved CRM application having objects that encapsulate and simplify the use of some set of functionality. For example, these service objects could be used to accomplish a variety of tasks, such as performing specialized calculations, transforming data between formats, and accessing data external to the CRM application.